This invention relates to a device for organizing articles. More specifically, the present invention relates to an organizer for maintaining library books, magazines, boxes, cans, articles of folded clothing, and similar objects of various sizes in a desired position and flush with the very front of the shelf upon which they are being showcased, and that also can be used for organizing objects inside a box.
One of the problems encountered by librarians, library assistants, and library users, store operators, stockers, and store customers is locating a particular object, e.g. book, magazine, box or can, or articles of folded clothing on a filled, crowded shelf. When some of the books, magazines, boxes, cans, and so forth vary widely in size and are of various dimensions, i.e. different height, thickness, and depth, they are not visible to the individual particularly when they are not flush with the very front of the shelf upon which they have been placed. Consumers encounter similar problems when storing clothes, for example, on shelves.
Also, customers or staff who are confined to a wheelchair quite often have an obstructed view of the objects pushed to the rear of the shelf on which they are placed.
A conventional means for overcoming the problem is for the librarian or library assistant, store operator or stocker to simply go around and manually move books, magazines, any boxes or cans, or other objects, which have been pushed to the rear of the shelf, back to the very front of the shelf for clear visibility, easy location, and access thereto by an individual. Such attention and effort is traditionally labor intensive and very repetitive. In the example of library books, books that are of irregular height, depth, and thickness often get shelved out of their Dewey Decimal System order.
Likewise, companies and individuals who ship multiple objects often desire to position those objects within a box or packing crate in a manner that avoids unrestrained movement. Conventional packing materials for that purpose typically are specifically manufactured to custom-fit the objects. In such cases, the shipper must ensure that an adequate supply of custom-fitted containers are available, and cannot easily pack different products using the same containers. Alternatively, loose materials such as packing peanuts, shredding, and the like can be employed, but such loose materials do not entirely prevent movement of the product, are clumsy to insert, and are unpopular with recipients who must dig through loose materials to remove them.
The following patents are illustrative of devices that aid in the positioning and storing of various types and sizes of articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,714 is for a “DEVICE TO MAINTAIN VERTICAL POSITION OF COMIC BOOKS AND MAGAZINES DURING STORAGE” and issued to Randy B. Burnett on Dec. 27, 1994. This storage box receives paper articles on their ends extending in a vertical position and incorporates a filler to maintain the paper articles, e.g. comic books, on their ends extending in a vertical position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,978 is for a “NESTING MAGAZINE ORGANIZER” and issued Jul. 5, 1994 to Donald B. Rabig. This patent provides a nesting magazine organizer in which two containers can be interfitted in a friction fitting relation for compact and easy shipping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,247 is for a “DIE-CUT CARTON WITH BUILT-IN FILLERS” and issued Dec. 12, 1978 to Richard J. McCall. This patent utilizes a sheet of corrugated material die-cut and scored into a one-piece blank formable into a closed carton for book shipping having integral corner fillers which are formed and strategically located automatically upon erection for the walls of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,329 is for a “TELESCOPE CONTAINER WITH RECESSED ENDS” and issued Apr. 20, 1976 to Gerald W. Turner. This patent provides a sheet of paperboard cut and scored to be folded into a container. It is formed as a pair of trays operating in telescoping relationship.
With the above in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an organizer that is simple and economical to manufacture.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a universal organizer that can be configured for use on various shelf sizes with various height, thickness, and depth of articles thereon, e.g. books, magazines, articles of folded clothing, boxes or cans.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an organizer that is formed from a single, flat sheet of corrugated box paper.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an organizer that can be configured to retain different sizes of articles in position in boxes for storage, including storage during shipping.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.